Change timings of Nainital-Doon Janshatabdi, says HC after plea highlights 'odd' hours

NAINITAL

: Barely a week after the Nainital-Dehradun Janshatabdi Express was flagged off, the Uttarakhand high court on Thursday directed the railways administration to change the timings of the train. The locomotive, which was introduced to boost connectivity between Garhwal and Kumaon regions, starts from Dehradun at 4.15 pm and reaches Kathgodam at 11.50 pm.


While hearing a petition in the matter, the division bench of acting Chief Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari stated, "Railway administration is directed to consider change of the timings of the train to 5pm from Kathgodam to Dehradun and 5am from Dehradun to Kathgodam."

Many tourists and residents had pointed out that the timings were odd as anybody who wanted to travel further from Kathgodam, especially towards the hills, was unable to find public transport this late in the night. Those wanting to go to Mussoorie and elsewhere were also inconvenienced as the train reaches the state capital at 12.30 pm.

Travellers were not happy with the boarding time of the trains in both cities as well. The petitioner, Pankaj Miglani, said, "Suppose someone has to catch the train at 5.15am from Kathgodam, this means they have to start travelling to Kathgodam from Nainital at around 3.30 am. No public transport is available at this time. What about those trying to catch this train from remote hill districts like Bageshwar and Pithoragarh?"

Meanwhile, the court also ordered the railway department to consider running the train on Thursdays and Sundays as well in larger public interest. At present, the 12-coach train runs five days a week.

The bench also directed the railway administration to ensure a new air conditioned coach in 'Ramnagar-Chandigarh Weekly Super Fast Intercity Express' train running on Mondays from Kashipur.

Commenting that the court can take judicial note of the fact that platforms and toilets are not maintained hygienically, the bench said, "There should be proper cleanliness and hygiene. The platforms/toilets should be maintained hygienically. The railways must use high pressure water jet cleaner to wash the coaches from outside and they must use spray extraction machine and steam cleaner as well. There is a procedure for en-route cleaning in Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains as well as onboard housekeeping services. The same procedure should be followed in the Naini-Doon Janshatabdi Express."